Family reunion 2017

Swimming, food, fun, and food! Yes, I said food twice. This weekend was about getting together, enjoying each other's company and eating a lot of really good food. My favorite part of summer is the variety and availability of fresh foods that I often miss during the winter.

I loved watching the kids play!  I think the time they spend together and the close relationships that they develop are really important. The imaginary worlds and secrets that they share are part of the magic of childhood. I am a little wistful watching them because it makes me miss it, but being on the other side has its own joys! Riley and Piper have become really close and it has been fun to hear her talking about the Abbott girls as well.

Riley will be starting kindergarten soon. Too soon. August 25th will be her first day and we will have a Preview Day the day before.

Nora has learned to crawl really well! She started really going shortly after we got home from the reunion weekend.  She has also taken really well to eating finger foods and has stopped eating purees, which has been interesting. I like not having to make purees anymore but am uncertain what to do with the ones I have left. Keenan says good luck sneaking those into his food!

   Riley had an eye appointment today (August 14) with a specialist for Amblyopia. Riley has a laundry list of diagnoses for her eyes. She has amblyopia in the left eye, hyperopia of both eyes and astigmatism (click on each word for a rundown on what they are).  Her left eye isn't working as well so the right eye is doing all the work. For the last 2 months we have been patching the right eye for 2 hours every day while she reads or colors to help the brain learn to focus the left eye properly.  At the appointment, the doctor said her left eye had made noticeable improvements, which is a great sign.  I guess children only have till they are about 7 to train the brain and then after that you can't do much to change the condition of their vision. She has a new prescription for her glasses. She also has another appointment in 2 more months. This doctor said that while doing focused activities while patching can sometimes bring more change to the eye, it is not what she exclusively recommends. So I think we will do 1 hour like we have been and 1 hour doing whatever she wants, which will make the whole patching thing less stressful (getting a 5 year old to sit for 2 hours straight is .... yeah).  We will be doing this for 2 months until the next appointment. Not sure what to do with school but I think we will do it once she gets home.

 Group Pictures